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no trolls allowed open thread

Do I need to crack down harder on trolls? A no-troll, no-MRA discussion thread

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This blog has been getting a lot more traffic lately. The downside is that we’ve had a lot more trolls here lately as well.

Because of this, and because of a shitty situation in one of the comment threads earlier tonight involving an abusive troll who I wish I had banned sooner, I want to open up a discussion to everyone here (that is, everyone here who is not a troll or an MRA).

The question is: Do I need to crack down harder on trolls?

Generally my approach has been to let trolls post unless and until they’re abusive. I know a lot of people here like engaging with trolls and taking them down.

The problem, of course, is that these trolls can quickly become abusive. And this can trigger people.

Should I be quicker to ban people — banning trolls at the first sign that they might become abusive rather than giving them the benefit of the doubt (which, unfortunately a lot of them don’t deserve)? Should I be stricter about who I let post in the first place?

There are actually a lot of people I don’t let post here at all; if their first comment is too aggressive or hostile or (obviously) contains a slur I don’t let their comments through. I’m especially strict when it comes to people posting in threads about women who’ve been harassed.

But I could be stricter, and I could ban more quickly if that’s what you think I should do.

Frankly, I gave up a long time ago on the idea that it’s possible to have any kind of “open debate” with these people. Too many of them are abusive assholes for that to work.

So my priority here is the regular feminist and feminist-friendly commenters on this blog, and coming up with a comment policy and procedures that work better for you all. There are people who enjoy and in many cases feel empowered by being able to confront the trolls here. But I don’t want, and I don’t think  any of us want, more situations like the one that happened tonight.

To be honest, I do think I need to crack down harder. I just want to hear what you all think on the issue, and to hear your suggestions as to how to do this most effectively.

The other aspect of this: I think I need to put up more no troll, no MRA open threads. And so I will be doing that.

Thoughts?

(I may not be able to get back to this thread for a little while, but I’ll definitely be back later in the evening.)

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pallygirl
pallygirl
10 years ago

Re emailing David: I did this before last troll went after Ally S (I think, hard for me to confirm because of the international dateline) and I didn’t:
– know what a good subject in the email was – maybe “offensive troll”
– make the email priority (that exclamation point thing in Outlook)
– link directly to the comments that had made me go oooo shit, just gave the page link and the arsehole’s name.

If there was an email like template we should follow, maybe that would help?

Anything to support David and provide evidence faster.

Although, arseholes that like should fucking act like adults and not post content that multiple people are telling them is offensive. There are so many other places they can post it with impunity, why the fuck do they think their shit is welcome everywhere?

Final thought: in some countries, going after someone like that is considered cyberbullying and punishable under criminal law. If it’s applicable, then, I am all for escalating to reporting each one of these type of arseholes either to their IP or authorities so the shit they do in cyberspace, which is clearly harming someone, affects their real life. That’s why cyberbullying laws are being passed. Fuck the bullies, but not the horses they rode in on, we’ll keep the horses.

Mike Buchanan
10 years ago

Hi David. You should definitely crack down on abusive MRAs – what happened last night? – but without any MRAs you don’t get debates, you get a hermetically-sealed chamber in which everyone agrees with one another, and visitors are reduced to people chiding one another for ‘ableist terms’ and other PC nonsense. Anyway, another good blog piece, which I’ll link to now. Thanks.

Mike Buchanan

JUSTICE FOR MEN & BOYS
(and the women who love them)
http://j4mb.org.uk

ANTI-FEMINISM LEAGUE
http://fightingfeminism.wordpress.com

CAMPAIGN FOR MERIT IN BUSINESS
http://c4mb.wordpress.com

ALTERNATIVE SEXISM PROJECT
http://thealternativesexismproject.wordpress.com

MEN SHOULDN’T MARRY
http://menshouldntmarry.wordpress.com

BreakfastMan
BreakfastMan
10 years ago

@Mike Buchanan: “PC nonsense” and that is where I stopped paying attention to you. You really might as well leave now. You won’t find a whole lot of people sympathetic to your shit here.

Shaenon
10 years ago

Oh wow, Mike, you have a blog? Why haven’t you mentioned this before? I’m very impressed!

weirwoodtreehugger
10 years ago

Speaking of banning…

Mike, this thread is for regulars to discuss in. It says no MRAs in the post.

kittehserf
10 years ago

Fuck off, Mikey. You’re an MRA troll and should be banned for those and being the most boring spambot in the world. Your opinion isn’t wanted here. You’re not wanted here. Go crawl back under your rock, you who are so pathetic even the BNP aren’t interested in you.

Everyone else: I’ve emailed the Dark Lord about Mr No-Reading-Comprehension.

pallygirl
pallygirl
10 years ago

Also, Mike has admitted that MRA == troll, as this post is about cracking down harder on trolls.

MRAs: proving our points since…. forever.

pallygirl
pallygirl
10 years ago

Something cute to watch:
http://youtu.be/vmZzFwu5dLY

lowquacks
lowquacks
10 years ago

Personally, David, since you asked: I feel the most important thing is to react quickly to what the regulars here say. If they ask for someone to be banned, that’s probably a sign that the person in question deserves a quick banning – lord knows we could’ve banned mr asymetrical eyes and mr milking machine earlier. that said, the merely clueless are something we’ve always tolerated – I feel the earlier-suggested option of a few volunteer mods with itchy trigger fingers and you having the final say might well be the best setup.

kittehserf
10 years ago

a few volunteer mods with itchy trigger fingers

heh heh

heh heh heh

*ahem*

contrapangloss
10 years ago

::sees mike’s post, face-palms::

Why the fuzz-bucket would an MRA troll think trolling on the ‘what-should-we-do-about-trolls-and-no-trolls-allowed’ thread is a good idea?

Mike, we know you have a blog. Yay for you. It’s not like we figured that out from your other 50 links.

(That was hyperbole, yes. Now could you please stop begging for page veiws?)

kittehserf
10 years ago

HeyeveryoneIhaveablogpleasepleaselookatmyblogpleeeeeasepleeeeeeeeeaselooktatmyblog

(Was that a lifelike imitation of Mikey?)

weirwoodtreehugger
10 years ago

And he’s linking to this post why? So his troll friends can join in and get banned too?

lowquacks
lowquacks
10 years ago

Kittehs would be fantastic. She’s up at a completely different time and not at all inclined to pity fools.

If we’re allowed the sort of blabber we get up to in other off-topic threads: fed a couple of kookaburras today at a family 21st (cousin/sister/me all hit 21 at around the same time) held at a yuppies’ home my grandparents are staying in temporarily while waiting for their new place to be finished. Such lovely chubby birdies!

kittehserf
10 years ago

::curtseys::

Oooh, kookaburras! I’m envious. I’ve never been close to them. Used to see a family often on the way to work, but they wouldn’t let humans get close. My sister’s a big fan of kookaburras and used to have them come sit on her verandah in one of her previous houses.

lowquacks
lowquacks
10 years ago

The trick is to have a lot of roast beef in your hand and scatter it near them first. If that doesn’t work, you’ve got skittish kookas, and I’m not sure there’s any way to get around that.

That said, if you can get them to visit, either regularly or irregularly, they’re pretty adorable and useful birds to have around.

Chris Wilson
10 years ago

Oh Ally, I just went and read the thread with Alejandro. I’m so sorry that happened to you. The thing that brings me to tears is young people -children- being abused. People who are even younger than I was.

Then I come back to this thread and Mike is using this opportunity to spam his horrible site again. Bring on some mods with the ability to warn and ban, I say. David can always review and lift the ban later if he thinks it’s justified.

kittehserf
10 years ago

I never see any kookas around home, alas. This family lived in an inner-city park, of all places.

We did have half a dozen galahs feeding on the lawn yesterday, though – so pretty. And they saw off some of those blasted Indian mynahs!

lowquacks
lowquacks
10 years ago

Sounds like an idea, David!

@Kittehs

Galahs are so pretty!

kittehserf
10 years ago

Great ideas, David!

lowquacks, aren’t they? That lovely pink. One of them had found something big to eat – possibly seeds off our stupid palm tree – and was standing on one foot and using the other to hold the thing up to zir beak. Not the most relaxed-looking way to have a meal!

lowquacks
lowquacks
10 years ago

They’re pretty stable like that, at least. My family used to persuade me that the same pair of galahs, Ed and Freckle, would visit every year – I think they managed this for 8 years or so. Now any pair of galahs around here, avian or not, are called Ed and Freckle.

Nice to see fluffy pink birdies, anyway – not something you’d necessarily expect from natural selection, but a lovely little result of it, don’t you think?

kittehserf
10 years ago

I do indeed!

thewatchingdog
thewatchingdog
10 years ago

I noticed some folks are able to make this graphic when quoting someone ..anyone feel kind enough to tell me how to do that? also does adding a “@” and someone’s name somehow notify then if you want to respond to something they posted in a more direct way? …I’m sorry for such a mundane question..but it’s quiet and I thought I’d ask

Anonymouslazycat
Anonymouslazycat
10 years ago

Are you referring to a blockquote? They go like this, I think- just take out the spaces

blockquote!

*crosses fingers that this will work*